Parliament of Portugal Ready to Actively Develop Cooperation with Kazakhstan

On 25 March 2021, Ambassador Daulet Batrashev met with Sérgio Sousa Pinto, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Assembly of the Republic (Parliament) of Portugal in Lisbon.

The two sides discussed the prospects for the development of Kazakhstan-Portugal bilateral relations, including interaction within regional and international organizations. Ambassador Batrashev stressed that Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the promotion of mutually beneficial relations with Portugal as a key partner in Western Europe, emphasizing the importance of inter-parliamentary diplomacy and strengthening ties between legislative bodies.

In this context, the interlocutors expressed mutual interest in intensifying parliamentary interaction and discussed details of the forthcoming establishment of a Cooperation Group with the Parliament of Kazakhstan within the Assembly of the Republic. The Deputy positively assessed the potential of this important step for the development of relations across the entire spectrum of cooperation, and expressed readiness to make efforts to complete all necessary procedures as soon as possible. The interlocutors also discussed issues related to the organization of the visit of the Chairman of the Majilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nigmatulin to Portugal scheduled for the autumn of this year.

During the conversation, special attention was paid to the development of trade and economic interaction. In this context, the most promising areas of bilateral interaction were discussed, such as energy, IT, agriculture, light industry and tourism. Furthermore, it was noted that there are prerequisites for increasing trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Portugal, due to the absence of any political problems between two countries.

The Ambassador informed Sérgio Sosa Pinto about the socio-economic situation in Kazakhstan, implementation of major reforms by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev aimed at comprehensive transformation of the country, as well as the celebration this year of the 30th Anniversary of Independence of Kazakhstan and the main achievements of the country during this period. The interlocutors also discussed topical issues of the current Portuguese Presidency in the Council of the European Union and the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Photographer: Sandra Ribeiro